Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Negotiation
Huo Tian took in a deep breath and deliberately tried to sound a little nervous. “But I don’t have 500 million…”
“You don’t? Then go ask your adoptive parents for it. And your classmates are also either rich or noble. Oh right, I heard that you have a fiancé who’s richer than the Huo Family. How about you ask him to help you pay this?”
Huo Tian looked at Si Huan and realized that he was also looking at her. Their gazes met and it seemed like they had exchanged some information that only they could understand.
Si Huan nodded at Huo Tian and mouthed silently, “Agree to it.”
Huo Tian said to the kidnappers, “I’ll agree to your conditions, but you’ll have to give me some time. I need to convince my fiancé. After all, 500 million yuan is not a small sum.”
“Hahahaha, little girl, you’re gutsy to be willing to give us 500 million just like that. But don’t be joking around with us brothers. If I find out that you’re lying to us, you can forget about your mother’s life!”
“Of course, I won’t joke with my mother’s life. But you have to let me confirm my mother’s current condition. I think this request isn’t too much, right?”
The leader laughed. “Little girl, although you’re young, you’re quite reliable. Of course, we will follow the rules to let you feel at ease before we get the money.”
Huo Tian said, “Then turn on the camera and let me talk to my mom.”
“Don’t worry, little girl. We have requests too,” the leader said. “I want to see what’s going on over on your side. Who knows if you’ve called the police?”
“Sure,” Huo Tian agreed without hesitation. “Can we turn on the camera now?”
The kidnappers hung up the phone and sent her a video call request. Huo Tian picked up the call without hesitation.
Ding Rong’s face appeared on the screen. There was a cut on her forehead, and blood flowed down her fair cheek. There were no other obvious wounds on her face, but her tightly furrowed brows indicated that she was still enduring immense pain.
Ding Rong seemed to have seen Huo Tian too, but her mouth was sealed again. She could only struggle and shake her head at the camera as if she wanted to stop Huo Tian from taking the risk to save her.
After seeing Ding Rong’s condition clearly, Huo Tian felt slightly relieved. She took out her phone and turned around to let the kidnappers see her surroundings clearly.
The office that had just been tidied up was empty and there were only Ding Chen, Si Huan, and Bi Ying.
The kidnapper asked with a dark expression, “Who are those people?”
Huo Tian replied calmly, “They are my uncle, my fiancé, and my classmate. I need a few minutes to convince him now.”
“Then you guys have to discuss this carefully. Later, you’ll come back alone to pay the ransom. As long as we get the money, we’ll let your mother go on the spot.”
Ding Rong let out an even louder whimper on the other end of the line. Even though she couldn’t speak, she was still trying to think of a way to remind Huo Tian not to take the risk.
Huo Tian hung up the phone and Si Huan immediately said, “I feel that these kidnappers aren’t just trying to get money. However, saving Auntie Ding’s life is the most important thing. I’ll get someone to go through the funds that we can use…”
Ding Chen’s legs had gone weak long ago, and he had to lean on Bi Ying to prevent himself from falling. He looked at Si Huan with a complicated expression. “Are, are you really willing to take out 500 million yuan to save my sister?”
Huo Tian opened a simple page from her phone and kept tapping on it. Without looking up, she said, “Si Huan, prepare a car for me and put some cash in the car. There’s no need to prepare too much. I just need to be able to deal with those kidnappers in front of the camera.”
Ding Chen was slightly relieved when he heard that Si Huan was willing to take out this sum of money to save his sister. Now that he heard that Huo Tian was planning to take the risk alone, he became nervous again.
“Tiantian, you mustn’t go meet those kidnappers, let alone use such a method to deceive them. If they do anything to you and Sister in a fit of anger…”
Ding Chen felt suffocated just thinking of that scene. He could not let his sister and niece be in such a dangerous situation. “Tiantian, I’m your uncle. I should be the one to do such a dangerous thing.”
Huo Tian shook her head. “Uncle, don’t worry. Mom and I will not be in any danger.”
Ding Chen was about to say something when Bi Ying’s phone suddenly rang.
He took out his phone and explained, “It’s our neighbor, Auntie Liu. I asked her earlier if she had noticed anything wrong with the Ding Family’s house. She’s calling back now.”
After the call went through, everyone heard the neighbor auntie lower her voice and say in a soft voice, “Little Ying, it’s a good thing that you reminded me to be careful and not to go to the Ding Family’s house directly to see what happened. I pretended to be passing by and glanced at the tailor shop. A fierce-looking man kept staring at me. It was really scary…”
Bi Ying said, “Thank you, Auntie Liu. We already know. Please inform the other neighbors that they must stay at home and close the door and windows. Also, don’t be curious about what’s happening at the Ding Family’s house…”